One possible hazard of military activity is the danger to personnel posed by equipment malfunction. As the complexity of modem weapons systems continues to increase, the challenge of maintaining the reliability and safety of such weapon systems also increases. With regard to modem fighter aircraft, for example, the possibility of a malfunction may increase due to numerous factors, including the age of the aircraft, the number and severity of missions flown, the operational environment of the aircraft, and of course, the presence of hostile fire directed against the aircraft.
Among the possible types of equipment malfunctions that may occur are the type associated with the components within the aircraft associated with controlling the aircraft's weapons (e.g. electrical circuitry, hardware and software). The possibility of malfunction of an aircraft's weapons control system poses a hazard to personnel on board the aircraft, as well as the ground crew charged with properly equipping the aircraft with its stores of missiles or other weaponry. Although some aircraft may include limited self-diagnostic capabilities that attempt to detect malfunctions and alert an operator if a malfunction is detected, such self-diagnostic capabilities may not be perfect and may themselves be subject to malfunction. Therefore, a need exists for improved methods and apparatus for testing and diagnosis of weapon control systems for aircraft